This is a great video from Funny or Die about the Wall Street bailout.

Happy Friday!

Last month, I interviewed Akash Agarwal about his new company, GreenNote. GreenNote is a microfinance Web site that you can visit to get help paying for college. Today it officially launches (although it has found some success in testing). Here is some information from a press release GreenNote sent me:

Students with active loan drives through GreenNote choose whether they wish to participate with the GreenNote Network of lenders. Unlike private bank loans or other traditional loans, GreenNote does not require students to have a credit report, co-signer or show proof of citizenship. The rate is fixed at 6.8 percent compared to private lending alternatives that typically carry a variable rate up to 20 percent.

Lenders can provide as little as $100 to the students they wish to support. GreenNote manages the entire process by formalizing the agreements for all its lenders into legally binding loans and handles all the details from loan documentation through repayment, making it simple and easy for lenders to loan money to students.

If you are facing a college funding gap — with cuts to education help from the government and the rising cost of tuition, books, room and food — it might be worth looking into whether microfinance can help you pay for college.

Image source: sxc.hu

We have a wrap-up of this week’s Fun Friday Post.

“Running is a big question mark that’s there each and every day. It asks you, ‘Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?’” - Peter Maher

The responses to this can be found on the following B5 Business blogs:

Accounting Solver
http://www.accountingsolver.com/what…business-wimp/

Digital Money World
http://www.digitalmoneyworld.com/blog-satisfaction/

Everyday Networker
http://www.everydaynetworker.com/wim…t-the-unknown/

Interview Chatter
http://www.interviewchatter.com/fun-…f-and-running/

Leadership Turn
http://www.leadershipturn.com/fun-fr…all-different/

Small Business Boomers
http://www.smallbusinessboomers.com/are-you-a-wimp/

taxgirl
http://www.taxgirl.com/fun-friday-ar…-to-be-a-wimp/

Yielding Wealth:
http://www.bizzia.com/yieldingwealth/fun-fr…ancial-health/

This morning, after the financial market optimism over the $200 billion Fed plan has subsided a bit, the question is this: Will it work?

American Public Media reports on the risks involved:

This week I am running a contest here on Yielding Wealth. In conjunction with the release of We Need to Talk: Money & Kids After Divorce by Linda Leitz, CFP next month, there will be a special Q&A series with your questions answered by a personal finances professional. You can win a copy of the book by emailing me your personal finance questions all this week. Deadline is Feb. 29 at 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time. Three winners will be randomly chosen to receive a free copy of the book.

I am very excited about this book, since it is aimed at teaching basic personal finance truths. And I am excited to get your personal finance questions and have them answered by Linda. So email me with your personal finance question. I can’t wait to read it — and have it answered!

Yesterday, Ben Bernanke testified before Congress about economic stimulus and the possibility of more rate cuts. He did stop short of saying that the US would enter a recession. Instead, he pointed out that while economic growth will slow, negative growth was not a foregone conclusion.

The stock market wasn’t overly impressed by his testimony, and that means that it could be a good time to evaluate your investment portfolio for fundamentally strong stocks, buying those (while they are low) that are likely to recover.

Earlier today in my quest to find ways of beating the bear market, we looked at going contrarian. This post is related to that concept, with Paul Farrell at MarketWatch recommending a do-it-yourself approach to investing:

Remember Buddha’s advice: “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” You are the only “expert” you can trust: All brokers and money managers, newspapers, magazines, online and newsletter pundits, all television anchors, and every other special-interest guru is “selling” you something. Don’t buy “it.”

You can do your own research into companies. It is more time-consuming, but in the long run it can save you money. Managed mutual funds, with their load fees and administrative costs are prime examples. So are brokerages that manage your stock investments. I find that online discount brokers can be great money-savers. Flat rates and more save you money up front, and research is finding, more and more, that the difference in gains you make on a managed account disappear into fees and commissions.

One of the more venerable Christmas traditions is the feast. Indeed, holidays are all about the eating, in many cases. Whether you celebrate Eid al-Adha with a large family banquet, or whether you have a small Christmas dinner with your family, the cost of food is on the rise.

And it’s not just for this holiday season. So, while you may have paid more for yesterday’s festivities, some economists say that you should prepare to arrange your food budget for the next three or four years. The Financial Times reports on where food prices are headed:

“The increases [in raw materials] mean food manufacturers, grocery stores, and restaurants will be passing those higher costs on to consumers, likely resulting in annual consumer food price inflation of 7.5 percent during 2008-12,” said the consultants in a recent report.